[maverickfan138]

Don't get me wrong, 469 had an outstanding robot, but I don't think they were the best. They had one flaw; they needed another great robot to fuel their fire. Yes, with a solid alliance, they could rack up points upwards of 25. How often did that happen? About six. I bet 469's robot, including offseason, was in close to 150 matches. On the other hand, there were a lot of matches with non redirecting robots where the scores were upwards of 20 points, especially at IRI. My point; if you put 469 in a one on one match verses one of those teams that Chris mentioned earlier, chances are that they will lose. I haven't seen 573 in this topic, yet we basically won a one on one(say that ten times fast) verse 469 at Troy. I'm not saying that we're better than them; the banners should speak for themselves, but they needed a decent second robot to give them their edge.

One of my favorite robots from this year and also one of the best was 33's. Honestly, I felt a little bad for them, since they lost in the finals at Kettering and Troy. At the state championship, they were semifinalists; the lowest they ever qualified in 2010. On Archimedes, they were on an alliance that 573 envied, yet they ended up finalists again. One of the things I noticed about their robot was that it looked very good, yet when you get a look at it up close, you'll notice minor details like pieces of sheet metal that wasn't cut straight or rivets that don't line up. You notice the evidence that students built the robot, and they were still one of the best. They had a decent kicker and a great hanger, not to mention the team itself. They were always spirited and you could tell that they had pride. All of this gave them a lot of respect in my book.

Another bot that I loved was 33's friends, 1718. They had a monster robot this year. Their kicker was excellent and they had the ability to vertically suspend and still thread the tunnel. Their drivetrain was also very impressive. They were able to push 469 over the bump at MARC, which was unbelievable(and pretty funny as well). 573 got to work with them during the mentor tournament at MARC(along with 1918), and it was a great experience. Just like 33, 1718 was spirited and proud of their robot and accomplishments.